when it rains it pours

Or, in this case snow. And ice. In Texas. But that's getting ahead of myself. On Monday night Britton started having a little cough. We thought nothing of it as this is winter and she is in daycare and colds are going to happen. Well, Tuesday God decided that the DFW metroplex was a bad pick for the Super Bowl and covered the region with a nice thick layer of ice. Work was cancelled, daycare was closed, people were crashing their cars left and right (as some genius thought that covering the roads with SAND was a solution!) and the temperature has yet to get above 28 degrees. Wednesday was basically the same day as Tuesday. Like our own little "Groundhog Day" movie on Groundhog Day (early spring, ya'll!).

Well, Thursday I'm ready to get out of the house. I was getting cabin fever and poor Britton was sick and just over the whole thing. I checked on the roads outside and then checked the laundry in the dryer. And saw this:





Don't know what that is? Well, neither did I until I investigated. SOMEONE put a purple crayon in the laundry hamper, which made its way to the washer, then to the dryer. The clothes were covered in purple spots. I can't get the stains out of the drum of the dryer.

So I give up and I go to get Britton up to get ready for daycare and she had a fever of 101.3. And a cough like a dying seal. See, the thing is, unlike West Virginia, no one in Texas is prepared to handle the adverse weather conditions well. Which meant that her pediatrician's office was closed AGAIN and the close urgent cares had waits of TWO TO THREE HOURS. So, being the over-reactor I am, I took her to the ER. Which was a ridiculous exercise in not cursing in front of my daughter because dang it all if you can salt the roads around the stupid stadium YOU CAN SALT THE ROADS AROUND A HOSPITAL!

But I digress. I get her in to see the ER doctor quickly, and he listens to me as I explain the progression, how a kid at her old daycare had RSV, and that it better not be RSV. He ordered a chest x-ray. Now, Britton didn't want to lay perfectly still on her back, and I'm not sure any toddler can. So the tech gave me the stink eye and decided we needed to use the immobilizer.

The what?

Yeah, it looks like this:




See how that kid's arms are held above his head in a ridiculously uncomfortable position? See how neither kid is crying? The device is a torture chamber. They managed to get Britton into it, her screaming the entire time, and her face kept getting caught in the plastic in the front. I stopped them right there, knowing the mental damage was creeping way too close to permanent for my liking. Finally they got their stupid x-rays by having me hold Britton to the x-ray table.

And her lungs were clear. Final diagnosis? CROUP. As in, what? I actually asked the doctor if people really still get it, and he said yes (while looking at Britton as if to say, "Of course! Because your daughter has it, dummy!). I'm not going to pretend I even knew what it was, so Dr. Sears says:

WHAT IS CROUP?
Croup is a viral infection that affects mostly younger children (under 5-6). It causes swelling in the child's vocal cords, which is what causes the barky cough. The vocal cords are already the narrowest part of the air passages, and any swelling from infection may narrow the airway enough to obstruct breathing. Croup usually lasts 5-6 days and is worse at night. The symptoms tend to peak on the second or third night. Croup may begin without warning when child suddenly sits up in bed with a barking cough. Or it may begin as a cold that gradually escalates into a croupy cough. The main concern for parents is to recognize when croup is serious and when it is not.

So we've been taking Britton on walks in the snow today to help with opening those air passages. Oh, wait. I didn't mention the snow yet?





My office was actually open today. The hub had planned on staying home with Britton because she's not allowed back to daycare until Monday (doesn't matter because they didn't open today) but a quick look outside and a quick peak at the morning news told me I was going NOWHERE. The snow was just compacting over the ice, making driving even worse than it had been before. See, unlike most people around here, I've lived places where it snowed regularly and you were still expected to go to work. But in those places, they actually salted the roads and used snow plows and the other drivers knew how to drive on it too. Not so much here.

So, we hung out all day and didn't do a whole lot of anything and even got in a nap on the couch. The last four days have felt like a week and I'll be so happy when Britton gets better, the roads are clear, and the Super Bowl is down the street and on the television.

With that in mind.....

GO STEELERS!!!